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A restaurant in Penrith has been fined, after a 14-year-old customer with a peanut allergy suffered an anaphylactic shock.

Indiagate Indian Restaurant on Burrowgate has been ordered to pay £3000.

The restaurant's three partners, Tojomul Hoque, Suhail Miah and Abu Sufian, were each given a 12 months community order and ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work, after pleading guilty to four offences under the Food Safety Act 1990.

The offences came to light after Cumbria County Council Trading Standards responded to a complaint from a local resident who said her daughter was taken to hospital after suffering anaphylactic shock having eaten a meal ordered at Indiagate.

The court heard it had been specified when the meal was ordered that the meal should be free from nuts. Trading Standards sampled the same dish and under analysis it was found to contain peanut protein.

The Public Analyst confirmed that there was sufficient quantity to present a real hazard to anyone who suffered from a nut allergy.

“It’s vitally important that food outlets understand food allergies and the importance of preventing any cross contamination occurring in their kitchens. To those who suffer from a peanut allergy, even a tiny amount of peanut protein contained within food can have devastating consequences.”

– Cllr Celia Tibble, Cumbria County Council Cabinet member for Trading Standards